Chapter 26
(following anime episode 94)
Part I
Few days after they came back from Crashtown, Crow took Hanako to Pearson's grave, so that they can both visit their friend, just like he promised he would. The graveyard was located by the shore and just when they appeared near the graveyard, the cruise ship set away on its journey, announcing the trip with a horn, as the loud sound of it suddenly broke the beautiful silence of deceased souls, while agitated seagulls started flying in circles through the sky above the graveyard, expressing their disturbance through a loud scream from their throats.
"Pearson", Crow murmured, as he stood before Pearson's grave with Hanako next to him, "Time goes by so quickly. It's already been three years since then!"
Hanako was just standing there silently, watching the engraved letters on the tomb that spelled Robert Pearson, feeling like she was about to cry, but then she moved her eyes to Crow, seeing how he moved to his day dreams, so she moved to him and wrapped her hand around his, pulling him closer to her, "Crow... What are you thinking about?" She barely murmured, as few tears escaped her dark sapphire eyes.
"Nothing, Baby", he said with a smile, placing his hand on hers, "Just how life isn't fair".
"If only he was alive, Crow", Hanako murmured with her voice shivering, as her hand strengthened the hold around Crow's upper arm, "Everything would be different. I'd be safe in his arms and the kids would have never..."
"Baby, don't", Crow broke her sentence halfway through, because he didn't want her to suffer and because her words started hurting him too much. He knew she didn't mean anything bad, but after so many years of struggling to keep children safe and happy, he couldn't help but feel so useless and unworthy... Because all he was able to do was keep kids happy by stealing the cards from Security. And no matter how hard he tried, he was never able to get rid of that bitter feeling inside his heart, "If it wasn't for his death, you'd never went to search for Yusei and Jack, and we'd probably never be all together again!" Crow just smiled and looked at Hanako, trying to stay strong for her.
"I guess you're right", she just sighed powerlessly, moving her eyes back to the grave, so Crow decided to take her back home.
"Let's go, Baby!" He proposed, knowing it would only get worse if they stay here, because after Pearson's death, Hanako lost the only man in her life that gave her all of the love she lacked during her childhood days. After Crow moved his eyes to her, he smiled how she nodded her head in agreement, so he slid his fingers down her hand and took it gently, moving Hanako away from Pearson's grave, but as soon as they approached their runners, Crow couldn't start the engine.
"Crow, what's wrong?"
"That Bruno... he did something strange again!" Crow shrugged, shaking his head in disbelief.
"Does it just say warning?" Hanako asked, trying to figure out what was going on with Blackbird, while she was sitting on her runner with the engine already started.
"Yeah, how did you know?" Crow asked with surprise in his voice, while his curious eyes looked at Hanako, seeing how she smiled over her shoulder at him.
"Just give it some speed, before you start the engine and it should be fine!"
"Oh", Crow murmured, as he entered the speed, before releasing the pedal, and just when he thought nothing is going to happen, the Blackbird's engine started purring proudly like nothing happened, "Gee, I can't tell if he's fixing it or making it worse!"
"It's not Bruno's fault!" Hanako moved her head to the front, focusing on the road before her eyes, as she started driving through the street.
"What do you mean?" Crow looked at her with curiosity and with no idea what she wanted to say, but since she was already on the go, he just followed her, shouting behind her back, trying to retain her attention, "Hey, Baby!"
"I'll explain it to you later", Hanako shouted, speeding away and enjoying the ride back home, leaving Crow far behind.
"Hey, wait for me!" Crow shouted, but just when he tried to catch her, he stopped his runner and looked back to the graveyard, "See you later, Pearson!" He smiled, touching his forehead with his two fingers and slowly pulling them away as a sign of salute, "I promise to come back again And I'll bring your Desert Flower with me!"
* * *
Since Crow had some problems with Blackbird during the visit to Pearson's grave, Hanako asked him to leave his D-Wheel in the garage that afternoon, so that she can check what was going on, even though she knew she can't do much about it. But before she was even able to try exploring the cause behind Blackbird's strange behaviour, Bruno managed to grab that place first, as he started running some tests on Crow's runner.
"This is strange!" He murmured, looking at the programme, while the laptop was wired to the Blackbird, "Why won't the engine system work if I activate the decompresser?" He started typing the command into the programme all over again, trying to run the scan, but the same error showed on the screen for the second time, "What's this error?"
"Have you been able to fix it?" Yusei asked curiously, seeing how Bruno was struggling, so he approached him from behind.
"There's a strange circuit", Bruno just answered, showing Yusei the error from the screen.
"Strange circuit?"
"It looks like it has something to do with this part", Bruno explained, pointing his finger to the screen, so Yusei leaned over his knees and looked closer at the programme scan.
"Let me see..."
While Yusei was checking the error of the programme with Bruno, he realised how Bruno wasn't able to gain access to one part of Blackbird, which prevented them from running a full scan, so Bruno tried to find a solution, "Maybe we should explore this part here to see..."
"You guys!" Crow's loud voice interrupted them as soon as he entered the garage and saw Bruno and Yusei playing around with his Blackbird all over again, "Hey, hey, what are you trying to do this time?"
"Ah, Crow", Bruno just said with a smile like nothing was happening, "I was adjusting the programme and found a strange circuit..."
"Strange circuit?" Crow asked loudly, running to the laptop to see what Bruno was talking about.
"No matter what I do, I can't access it any further", Bruno said, explaining to Crow what was going on and hoping that maybe Crow will know what was going on, but he seemed as confused as both him and Yusei... Their confused faces caught Hanako's attention, as soon as she got down from the kitchen, because she heard Crow shouting like a maniac, so she got downstairs to check what was happening.
"Well, in any case", Crow shrugged, "Be careful and try not to break it!" He added, feeling like giving up, as he started walking away, because he had no idea what Bruno was talking about, but then Hanako ran to them and stopped Crow from leaving.
"Breaking it?" She asked with her eyes widened, so she pulled herself together and shook her head, moving to Bruno and Yusei, "Let me see what is the problem, Bruno!"
"Here!" Bruno said, moving slightly to the side, leaving Hanako some space to approach the laptop and see what was going on, "I ran an update check but no matter what I do, this error shows up!" Bruno said, running a scan all over again, as the error showed on the screen with one part of the runner flickering lightly.
"Oh, that again", Hanako sighed, waving with her hand, as she moved away from the screen, "Just forget it! You'll never be able to solve that puzzle".
"What do you mean?" Yusei asked immediately, realising how she knew what was causing the programme to stop in the middle of the scan.
"Blackbird is a homemade runner that Pearson built all by himself", she started, "This here", she added, pointing her finger to the part of the Blackbird that was flickering like an SOS signal, "Is a secret spot that you can't reach!"
"A secret spot?" Bruno asked with both eyebrows raised, while his eyes were locked on the laptop screen.
"Yeah, it's like a safety deposit box or a treasure box", Hanako explained, "Call it whatever you like, but you ain't breaking it!"
"You think something is hidden in there?" Yusei moved his eyes from the screen to Hanako, with his voice both curious and serious.
"I have no idea", Hanako shrugged, not feeling skilled enough to deal with Pearson's brilliant ideas, so she saddened her face.
"Maybe we should check it", Yusei suddenly proposed, so Hanako looked at him with a sceptical glow in her dark sapphire eyes, while Crow's face turned pale as soon as he realised what Yusei tried to do.
"Oy, don't you do anything harmful to my runner!"
"Don't worry, Crow!" Yusei just answered indifferently, moving to Bruno, "We won't do much!"
"You won't do a thing at all", Hanako answered like she was mocking with both Bruno and Yusei, but Bruno seemed to be the only one offended by the tone of her voice.
"Excuse me?!"
"Just forget about it!" Hanako waved with her hand, like she was trying to get rid of something that was bothering her, "You'll never make it!"
"How can you be so sure?" Bruno was persistent.
"It's Pearson we're talking about!" She started explaining, "He was the greatest D-Wheel creator I've ever met... It took me around three months just to figure out what is that thing!"
"But why is it not recognised by our system?" Bruno asked again, refusing to give up, just because Hanako said so.
"Because obviously Pearson never wanted for it to be recognised by any system", Hanako looked at Bruno with a sharp look in her dark sapphire eyes, as she crossed her hands, "Not even yours!"
"So... What you are trying to say is", Yusei broke into their conversation, "That if you've never been able to access it, no one ever will?"
"Rob was unique!" Hanako smiled to his words, as she nodded her head, while all of her three guy friends widened their eyes at how she called Pearson by a nickname she probably gave to him herself, "You will never break those chains!"
"But can you at least show it to us?" Bruno murmured shyly, hoping his request won't make Hanako mad, "I'm kinda curious!"
"Yeah", Yusei added with a smile, "I'd like to see its mechanism!"
"Sure!" Hanako clapped her hands happily, "Just pass me that wrench over there!" She said, moving to Blackbird in an instant, because she was so excited to share with them something so unique and perfect like Pearson's D-Wheel mechanism.
"Hey there, guys!" Crow shouted, protesting against their idea with sweat forming on his forehead, as the fear of losing his runner started burning inside his veins, "Don't you dare ruin my bike! I still have a delivery to do!"
"You know what?" Hanako chuckled, looking at Crow over her shoulder, "Make it a hammer, too!" She started giggling at how Crow's face turned so pale, like the ceiling inside his room, so Bruno and Yusei started laughing at his frightened facial expression, when suddenly their friendly atmosphere was interrupted by a visit from Mikage and Ushio.
"Excuse us!" Ushio said, as soon as he entered the garage, watching how all of the eyes suddenly started looking at him.
"Ushio and Mikage...?" Crow murmured, while blinking his eyes.
"Got a minute, Crow?" Ushio asked, pointing his finger over his shoulder to the entrance to the garage, wanting to take Crow outside to talk to him about something very important, but his words made Hanako dead curious about Ushio having business with Crow alone, so she looked at Crow with a pleading shimmer in her eyes that made Crow know exactly what was going on inside her head.
"Stay here with them, Baby", Crow just said with a smile, giving her a brotherly wink to assure her how everything will be just fine, "I don't want those idiots to ruin my Blackbird!" He added, knowing only something like that would prevent Hanako from being too curious, so the moment she just accepted his request, made his heart to fall to its place.
"Sure", Hanako smiled with a nod, "But promise to tell me what happened once you're done"
"Got it!" Crow said before he went to Ushio and escorted both him and Mikage outside the garage to have a talk and just when he made sure they were far enough, he asked, wanting to get straight to the point, "What do you want?"
"The truth is, it's about Robert Pearson!" Ushio explained, but instead of just going on with the things as they are, Crow's eyes widened in shock and surprise.
"How do you know about Pearson?"
"Did you think I didn't know?" Ushio smirked proudly, "My jurisdiction was in Satellite, you know!"
"So why didn't you want to involve Baby into this?" Crow asked with his eyebrow right raised, knowing how Ushio must have known about Hanako's relationship with Pearson, since he was patrolling around Satellite, but before Ushio could explain himself, Mikage decided to speak.
"Because we have something we want to ask you regarding Pearson's death!"
"Something you want to ask?" Crow was now even more confused, as he kept looking at Mikage, waiting for her to explain her words in detail, so that he can at least understand what was going on.
"Yes", Mikage nodded, "Before the accident occurred, we realised that Pearson was duelling somebody", she approached Crow and handed him a photo with a card on it, "This is the card the opponent was using during that time!"
"And we're looking for the person that used that card!" Ushio added, "Do you know anything about it?"
"Blood Mephisto", Crow murmured, after his eyes thoroughly studied the card on the photo, "It's the card I've never seen before".
"I see", Ushio murmured with slice of disappointment in his voice, while he moved his look away, deeply thinking about what happened three years ago.
"This happened a long time ago", Mikage started again, "But there was a time when cards with new effects were being researched. Among them, there were some dangerous cards that inflicted actual damage to the players!"
"Real damage?"
"Of course, the research was stopped immediately", Mikage kept explaining, wanting to clear out all of Crow's incertitude, "However, during the research, few of the cards were lost... that's one of them!"
"So that means Pearson was done in by this card's effect damage?"
"In any case, those cards are few in number!" Ushio confirmed, skipping Crow's question, just to solve this as soon as possible, "If we find the owner of the card, we can find Pearson's killer as well!" He looked at Crow with a serious look in his eyes, "We thought that you might know something".
"Nah", Crow sighed, disappointed in himself, "I have no idea", he murmured, feeling like he will never find out what really happened to his old friend Robert Pearson, but then he heard Hanako's voice, so he snapped out of it, trying to hide a card from her.
"Hey, guys!" Hanako ran to Crow, Ushio and Mikage, wanting to know what was taking them so long, but since Crow was caught by surprise, he goofily tried to hide the card away from Hanako, but it was already too late, "Crow, what's going on?" She asked, looking at how Crow's hands wiggled around, so she started being suspicious.
"Nothing... It's just that..."
"We need Crow to deliver something for us", Ushio interrupted Crow's idea of finding a good excuse for his weird and suspicious acting, so Hanako moved her eyes from Crow to Ushio, shooting another question at him, acting like she didn't see a strange card in Crow's hand.
"Why Crow?" She asked again, trying to make Ushio talk, but when she realised he wouldn't say a word, she moved back to Crow, "Are you hiding something from me?"
Her question made both Ushio and Crow sweat drop at her curiosity, not knowing what else to say to her to make her trust them and hide the secret away from her, so Mikage decided to step in, "Don't worry, Baby! Crow is delivering all kinds of things around the city, so we thought he's the best option for this, because the package is a top secret!"
"I see", Hanako murmured, making all three of them believe how she just dealt with it, "Is it something to do with Blood Mephisto card?" She asked, making Crow gulp hard, knowing how there was no way of hiding something away from her. And even if he tried to lie to her, she would have seen right through him!
"Yes", Mikage nodded her head, "We are searching for someone who used that card in a duel", she said like she didn't even try to hide the information away from Hanako, but she was cautious and prudent with her words and her approach, "Do you know something about it?" She asked, taking this opportunity to ask Hanako what they wanted to know, without her knowing it had something to do with her lover.
"Never heard of it!" Hanako shook her head, leaving them and going back to the garage, because she had more important things to take care of.
"She bought that pretty quickly", Ushio sighed in relief, looking at Mikage, feeling thankful for having her around, because otherwise he and Crow wouldn't be able to deal with Hanako's shower of questions.
"No, she didn't!" Crow answered with concern in his voice, as he watched how Hanako just moved back to the garage, like she really didn't care about their conversation, "She'll probably follow me or do something else to find it out sooner or later!" He added, moving his eyes back to Ushio, because there was no time to waste, "Anyway, Blackbird is out of use, so..."
"What are you going to do, Crow?" Ushio wanted to know.
"I know someone who might know the answer to your questions", Crow answered, remembering Pearson's close friend Bolger, "I'm going to pay him a visit to see if I can make him talk!" He explained, making both Ushio and Mikage nod in understanding, as he ran to the garage and took Jack's Wheel of Fortune, before he drove away to Bolger's Company, hoping he will be able to find out some answers.
* * *
After Crow came back from Bolger's Company, he took Jack and Yusei with him to visit Martha's place, because Hanako was helping her with kids and with making dinner, so guys decided to eat in the orphanage. But Crow kept staring at the Blood Mephisto card, thinking about Bolger and how he challenged him to the duel that Crow had to win no matter what. Bolger said he knew something more about Pearson's death and for the sake of the kids, Crow swore to find out what it was. Since he was glued to his runner, far away from the kids he came to visit, Yusei approached him, while Jack was left alone at the entrance door to Martha's house with kids glued around his legs and swinging from his arms like monkeys.
"Pearson?" Yusei asked curiously, taking the photo of Blood Mephisto card to look at it, while Crow was trying to explain to him everything that happened three years ago.
"Yeah, he's a friend who entrusted me with the Blackbird and died", Crow started, "We met just before Kiryu was arrested... After Team Satisfaction split up, I lost my goal and was wandering around meaninglessly while Hanako was taking care of the kids... Like always, we were stuck in Satellite", he slowly started remembering what happened the day before he found out about Kiryu taking down Security all by himself, "But one day... One of the boys' fathers was attacked and robbed... I tried to fight back, but they were stronger than me... Hanako was there, keeping the kids safe inside the hut while I was powerlessly lying on the ground, trying to defend walhat was most precious to me. And just when everything seemed lost, Pearson showed up out of nowhere and duelled those guys... Winning a duel with such ease and... Paying back what's owned!"
"So then your friendship started?"
"Yeah", Crow nodded his head, "He was taking care of children in Satellite like I did, but... He worked to allow children to realise their full potential, wanting them to understand that, even though they were from Satellite, they can achieve anything!"
"That sounds familiar!" Yusei chuckled with a warm smile on his face.
"It's what Hanako learned from him", Crow agreed, knowing exactly what was on Yusei's mind.
"Baby?" Yusei murmured, feeling a bit shocked by the fact that Hanako was closely connected to Pearson, "How did she...?"
"She believed Pearson and I did, too... We both helped his research", Crow answered, "Pearson gave us the hope to live on again! I enjoyed helping his research: he was working on an engine with Satellite parts that would shock people in the city!"
"Is that how Hanako developed her love towards the engines?"
"Yes, but not just towards the engines", Crow finally said, knowing how Yusei probably won't stay cold and untouched by the news, but after seeing Yusei just standing and looking at him with no response from his side, Crow realised his assumptions were right! Even though he knew Yusei was hurt deep inside, he kept talking, "She loved Pearson. Hanako saw a hero in him and... Eventually fell in love. They were inseparable!"
"So what happened?" Yusei asked calmly, trying to keep his posture, even though he was feeling like dying on the inside. Just the thought of Hanako being in someone else's arms and giving her heart to someone else made him lose his mind, while his soul felt betrayed and so lonely... He was hurt even though he shouldn't be, especially now when Pearson died and Hanako was probably suffering because of that, but he couldn't help but feel envious for Pearson having that part of Hanako for himself.
"One day, the house where we used to work on the engine was on fire", Crow's words brought Yusei back to reality, so he moved his eyes back to Crow, listening to what he has to say, "When I rushed inside, Pearson's body was already dying, pressed between the ground and the wooden support beam... He died before my own eyes and I couldn't save him!" Crow closed his eyes tightly, trying to prevent tears from falling down his face, while the beating of his heart started spreading throbbing pain around his chest, "He told me to take care of the children. He entrusted me with his deck and his Blackbird, while Hanako", Crow opened his eyes and looked at the distance, unable to look into Yusei's eyes, because he was in pain and knowing what is going to slip over his lips right now would maybe hurt Yusei, too, "Take care for my Desert Flower, Crow... Find the one who can help her bloom, because that place in her heart wasn't meant for me... Even though I loved her with all I had – is what he said", Crow added, "Those were his last words!"
"Desert Flower..."
"Yes", Crow confirmed, moving his eyes to Yusei, to see his face, wanting to look into his eyes just to see his reaction, to get a clue of how Yusei was feeling, but he was just calmly looking at Crow, like nothing was going on inside his heart, "But I was never able to understand those words..."
"And you never told Hanako about it?" Yusei asked, seeing how Crow shook his head, so Yusei started having flashbacks about the scrap-iron flower he made for Hanako's birthday, as he started recalling a memory from his own past that was making him lost in his thoughts...
It was back then... The night Kiryu was arrested. I left Team Satisfaction; I left Kiryu with hope he won't take Security on his own... And with that left behind me, I had more time for myself, so I finally finished the gift for her birthday. I was so nervous, while my entire body refused to calm down thinking how she will get mad, because I was too late...
"What is this?" She asked, while her blinking made her eyelids to keep closing and opening rapidly, so I assumed she was a bit confused with what I've done. And it was no surprise... I was more than two months late with that birthday gift I made just for her, but that didn't stop me from keeping the metal construction in my hand, as I waited for her reaction.
"It's a gift for you", I barely murmured, ashamed for making her wait for so long, "Happy birthday, Baby!"
"Yusei, I..."
She looked like she was about to scold me for not doing this at the right time, so I tried to find an excuse, trying to defend my recklessness, "I'm sorry it wasn't earlier, I was..."
"No, don't worry", she just broke all of my hard work with a smile, "I love it!" Now it was I, who was left speechless, so I just kept looking at her fingers taking the flower away from my hand, while her eyes started exploring its metal parts I managed to combine to at least look like a flower. And after few seconds, a smile curled around her lips, making my heartbeat faster than usual at the beautiful and lovely sight of her still child-like face that made her look so innocent and fragile, like a real flower, "It's beautiful!" She answered, making my words just roll over my lips without even thinking what I was saying.
"But not as beautiful as you", I got carried by the moment, watching her adorable cheeks blushing softly, while her eyes just moved to meet mine.
"If I was a flower, Yusei... You really think I'd look like this one?" Her question made me laugh and I couldn't prevent myself from doing so. For a moment, I forgot everything about Kiryu and leaving Team Satisfaction, I wasn't thinking about surviving in Satellite, I wasn't even aware that I was living there... And it was all because of her and the way she was smiling at me.
"No, Baby", I shook my head, as soon as I pulled myself together, "You'd be a desert flower!" I explained without even thinking about giving her my honest answer.
"A desert flower?"
"Yes", I nodded my head to assure her how I really meant what I said, "You'd be like a yellow desert flower that can bloom even under the deadliest circumstances", I tried to explain myself and I really meant what I said. She really was and still is like a desert flower that blooms in places you'd never expect to find a flower like her. And Satellite was her desert: deadly, wild, cruel, rough, harsh and barbarous... And yet she was still there, blooming and blossoming in all her beauty and might, with her smile shining so brightly, it could grow a rainbow on the sky, even during the heaviest rainy days in Satellite.
"I guess my yellow dungarees really make me look like a yellow flower", I heard her words that were soon followed by an adorable giggle of her soft and sweet voice, it made me chuckle. Even though it's not what I meant to say with those words of mine, I couldn't disagree with her interpretation either.
"You can say it that way, too", I added, but as soon as I moved my eyes from the flower back to her, I realised her face was brought closer to mine, while the warm breathing that escaped her nostrils started caressing my face during the cold, rainy day in Satellite. I didn't know if it was her or me, who pulled the face closer to the other... or maybe it was both of us, but in that very moment, it didn't matter. At least not to me! I kept looking at her sapphire eyes, while my heart kept speeding its beat so fast, I felt like the entire space around us started spinning.
"Yusei", she whispered my name, as the coldness of the rain suddenly disappeared and my heart was feeling so warm, while her nose was leaned against mine, "My heart is beating so fast right now, because I've never been this close to someone", her words left me speechless, because I was feeling the same way and there was nothing more to be said, nothing more to be added.
"I guess that makes the two of us", I just whispered back, wanting to be honest and sincere with how I felt back then and wanting her to know all of it was true, all of it was real! So I took her free hand and gently placed her palm against my chest, letting her feel the fast beating of my own heart, because how I felt back then was something I never experienced not before or after that night with her.
"Yusei", she whispered my name again, so I kept my eyes locked on hers, letting her express herself; wanting to know what was on her mind, because I already knew what was in her heart, but she didn't give me that information, "What is going to happen now?" She just murmured, while I unconsciously brought my lips closer to hers.
"I don't know", I said... Maybe I said the truth, or maybe it was a lie. I had no idea what I wanted in that very moment. I was hurt, young and confused and it took me a while later to realise I wasn't the only one. It was the same with her... So I guess what happened afterwards was how it was meant to be. Kiryu assaulted the Security all by himself and was being chased, so Jack and Crow rushed inside the abandoned house, interrupting the moment between Baby and me.
"YUSEI!" Crow's voice finally reached me back then... Taking away my chance to show her how she truly made me feel... He took away the only moment in my life when I was really holding that Desert Flower in my arms, before it just slipped away, as the cold, wild Satellite wind ripped her away from my palms and took her to another pair of hands... To some unknown arms that were not mine...
"Yusei!" Crow called for Yusei's name for the second time, looking at his eyes, realising how he was so distant and probably lost in the depths of his own mind, but before he tried to shake him and bring him back to reality, Yusei's eyes moved to him, so he continued, "Were you even listening to what I was saying?"
"Ah, sorry", Yusei murmured, seeing how Crow looked even more down than before, so he treid to cheer him up, putting his own emotions aside, "You did a great job, Crow! Taking care of the kids and looking out for Baby!"
"You think so?" Crow just sighed, still unable to get rid of the guilt in his heart, "After losing Pearson, I was only able to keep the children happy with stolen cards! Bolger is great, by carrying Pearson's will, he stood up and brought the D-Wheel to the isolated Satellite... And Baby... I bet Pearson would be proud of the woman she became", he kept shaking off all of his feelings that were lying dormant inside of him, "In the end, the sins that I've been doing up until now might have just useless things. I wasn't able to carry on Pearson's will!"
"That's not true", Yusei smiled warmly, "You already are carrying Pearson's will!"
"I am?"
"Look at those kids' faces!" Yusei turned to the side, reaching his hand to the kids, showing Crow how happy they looked, as the kids started shouting and cheering for Crow.
"What have you been doing?" Little Ginga shouted.
"Hurry up and come here!" Daichi added, while little Kokoro was waving with her hands happily, trying to catch Crow's attention.
"Big brother, Crow!"
"You're the one who gave those faces hope, Crow!" Yusei added softly, moving his eyes back to Crow, "Don't blame yourself! If you think you're doing the right thing, then follow that path!"
"Yusei", Crow's eyes widened with loads of happiness now growing inside his heart instead, as a bright smile appeared on his face, making him nod in agreement, feeling like the ray of hope suddenly sparked inside his soul, "But one more thing... Baby must not know about this, OK?"
"Why are you hiding it away from her?"
"Because I don't know how far their relationship went", Crow explained, as his words pierced Yusei's heart like a sharp dagger, leaving sever wound deeply inside of it. If Hanako gave herself to Pearson and if it was true, Yusei knew his heart will never feel the same again!
"You don't think they have actually had..."
"Anything is possible, Yusei", Crow shrugged, "Hanako never spoke about it after he died!" He let a deep and heavy sigh, and just when he mentioned her name, Hanako appeared on the door of Martha's house, wearing a yellow apron around her waist.
"Hey, stop being so loud, guys!" She started shouting, acting just like Martha, so the kids shut their mouths in an instant, "Dinner is ready so you better go inside and wash your hands!" She added, so the kids just rushed inside without even contradicting her request, so Jack smirked at her strict words, seeing how she moved her head to where Crow and Yusei were standing, "Come, Jack!" She said, "Let's see what the guys are doing!"
"Sure!" Jack nodded his head, as he accompanied Hanako to Yusei and Crow, wanting to know what was going on, but before he could even offer his question, Hanako jumped between Crow and Yusei.
"Crow, spit it out!"
"What?"
"Whatever you're hiding from me!"
"I am not hiding anything", Crow tried to get away with the secret, but Hanako was persistent.
"Liar!" Hanako shouted back, "It's written on your forehead!"
"Where?" Crow's eyebrows rose, as he tapped the forehead with his fingers.
"You idiot", Hanako giggled at his gesture, but just when she started enjoying it, Jack's deep and proud voice broke all the fun.
"You heard her, Crow", Jack was keeping Hanako's side, standing up and tall against Crow, "Spit it out yourself or I'll spit it out of you!" But then Hanako saw that same card again, Blood Mephisto that was placed in Yusei's hand.
"I knew it!" She said, taking the photo of a card from Yusei, "It has something to do with this card, doesn't it?" She furrowed her eyebrows, while piercing Crow with a cold look in her eyes.
"Yeah", Crow looked away, feeling like giving up from hiding all of this from her, so he decided to speak it up. She was going to find it all out sooner or later, "Apparently Pearson was killed with that card!"
"Killed?" Hanako asked with confusion, while her voice trembled like she was about to cry, but she managed to control her emotions somehow, because she was focused on finding out the truth, "So it wasn't just a coincidence?" She asked, sensing deep inside of her own heart how her assumptions were true. Ever since Pearson died, she refused to believe how his death was just a mere coincidence.
"Looks like someone killed him on purpose", Crow explained, while Yusei and Jack kept listening to their conversation, "And Bolger told me he has information about that card, but he wants to duel me for it!"
"And what's in it for him?" Hanako raised her left eyebrow, "I'm sure Bolger didn't challenge you like that out of the blue!"
"He wants Pearson's Black Feather Dragon!" Crow explained, thinking how Hanako will probably react on impulse or start worrying and shouting, but she just kept standing calmly before his eyes, so he was a bit shocked by her steadiness.
"Well... Bolger is trading cards around the world, so I guess he can really give you information about this Blood Mephisto card!" Hanako explained, waving with the photo in her hand.
"And how do you know so much about Bolger?" Jack asked all of a sudden, wanting to be part of the conversation.
"Because we have some unfinished business!"
"What?!" Crow was the one, who was most surprised by her words, because not even he knew about that part of Hanako's life.
"It's a long story", she just shook her head, not feeling like talking about it, "He wanted me to come to the city, to work on the engine with him, but I refused... In any case, if someone killed Pearson, the justice has to be served, so you better not lose that duel, Crow!" Hanako smirked teasingly at her friend, wanting to encourage him, but all she got back was his thoughts still sticking by Bolger's relation to her.
"And you never told me that?"
"I just thought Bolger was not worth it", she said, crossing her hands.
"Well, now that we settled it, how about we all help Crow get ready for the duel?" Yusei smiled, knowing they must prepare Blackbird for the duel to find out who killed Robert Pearson. He was aware of the fact that this is not going to be easy, not for Crow, not for Hanako and not even for him... He was about to find out the sorrowful and sad truth about Hanako's past that he himself had no idea if he truly wants to know, but his heart was going through so much pain, he just had to ease it somehow. Even if it meant finding out the truth about what happened to Hanako after the night Kiryu was arrested.
"But you didn't receive Black Feather Dragon from that man, right?" Jack's question made Yusei snap out of his thoughts, as he looked at Crow, waiting for his answer with Jack by his side.
"No", Crow shook his head, "But this is my way of answering!"
"OK, guys!" Hanako jumped excitedly, while happily clapping her hands, "Let's do this!"